This is a pretty cool video. Chevy Suburban 1500 with a Saturn 1.9l engine mated to an electric motor. From the way I understand it it's a Plug in Hybrid so the first 60 miles are all batteries and then the engine takes over mostly to keep the batteries charged. From what this guy claims what you are paying in power to keep the batteries charged is the equivelent of $.70 per gallon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_09tPHmDR_c

Of course it probably took them $100k to develop this thing. And I know the first thought that comes into most of your heads is "how much can it tow?". They claim that it out towed a standard model with the 5.3 liter at GMs testing grounds.

It's a cool idea, but I would be interested in seeing what it's limitations such as overall range, speed, and towing capacity after the batteries are down to 20%.

highly doubtful on the torque.

The cost of the batteries to supply the power that they hinted at is probably a big number. One they probably don't want to mention. Maybe in the 20 thousand dollar range.
They did mention that when the batteries go down to 20 percent they use the motor to keep the batteries at 20 percent charge. Now a logic question is.....if you use a 1.9 liter motor to drive a generator/alternator to charge a battery what power will it put out? My uneducated answer is no more power than a 1.9 liter motor can produce if gear driven. Which is not much. A Suburban was used I'm guessing because its known as a gas guzzler. Heavy and unmanageable.
My other guess is its more of a test platform, not a vehicle meant for the marketplace. There are alot of them out there.

It's going to be very interesting to see what comes down the pike the next 5-6 years. They won't all be winners, but every new idea or progress in proven technologies should result in some outstanding innovations over the next 10 years or so.

What would the MPG be if it were on a conveyor belt?

(Sorry guys, this is an OT joke).

Torque will be what that engine excells at.

Electric motors create 100% torque at 0 rpm another words, off the line the torque is its biggest helper. It will do a ton of work howeve the amps (hp) is how fast it can do the work. I think of a train, lots of torque but no horsepower. How do trains move? I believe it is a huge generator, thats the motor you hear and the generator powers the ELECTRIC motor that propells the train, atleast on some newer models. Electric motors create lots of torque but very little horse power. Awsome towing capability.

As far as the batteries, lithium ion is the only way to go and it would cost about 30k for the batteries needed for this electric hybrid suburban.

Another 20k for the controller to supply power to the motor form the batteries.

Another who knows what in design cost's

If i knew the size of the electric motor i could guess a cost there to but to be safe ill guess 13 inches at about 10k

For the electricity keep in mind that electricity isnt a never ending commodity. Think california rolling blackouts, electricity MAY be cheaper then gas now (slightly, i doubt .70 a gallon though) however in the future that will change, Just like gas it will cost mroe and more to meet our needs and the goverment isnt going to change how they work things.

For those who dont know economics basicly when the price of gas raises so high that it will be more profitable to create another mass transportation system either through more energy creation or through a whole new idea thats when mass electric or hydrogen cars will be available. It wont happen till demand falls below the cost line. So until no one can afford gas and it is cheaper to sell all electric we are stuck. This process will continue with all forms of energy FOREVER.

Tally
susburban new 8,000
Controller 20,000
electric motor 10,000
Saturn motor 5
Batteries 30,000
Design 10,000 (atleast)

Total 78,005

Is it worth it?

Please dont go into global warming here with record lows in the north and record highs in the tropics during the last few years!!! Especially with long time eventstratigraphy recordings showing that temp always rises and falls with the level of the sea and amount of ice on the earth.

yeah! what he said good info!

I watched a show one time on some guys that were trying to make an all electric car that could pull a 13 second quarter mile. I think they broke a couple of driveshafts and a rear differential before they got it set up to handle the massive torque they were putting out.

As I said in my first post one of my main questions would be the top speed.

Top speed is limited, these cars have a real poblem getting down the quarter mile (white zombie look him up also) I am a part of a huge build, we work on a top secret car to kill all records. It will be electric and ground breaking. (If the owner can find the financial ability) To speak openly check out the killa cycle (and its battery's) Go to youtube and search you will find it. These are the latest batteries. If god willing this will be my brake out project as far as getting my name into the automotive industry. I am currently going to school for Mechanical Engenering, thermal dynamics, fluid mechanics. Thats what its all about, if you wana go fast on gas. I HATE electric. Not my thing. I wana go fast on gas. I will be building a chassis for the electric car that will be unbetable by any common standards.

To brake down what i understood from the video (digging through the propaganda). Baisicly that car is a power hound with a low milage ability, to overstate its abilitys, at most you will get 400 miles off a overnight charge. That is another problem with electric you cant get very far very fast. The car may have a new technology for a regenerative system, but you would only think of this if you were ground braking. :0 If it is regenerative and out this early it gets probably 550 miles to a charge. You cannot get continuse operation out of a obligatory hybrid or an electric. If the hybrid can run on a 1.9 liter saturn motor do you realy wana drive with that?

To further prove my point http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18205418/ (granted this was 2007)
P.S. This info is not available on my sight; sorry, I am in a place of very restrictive info.

Heres my sight
www.ramirezracing.blogspot.com (look through the whole thing)

Some of you guys might find this interesting.

Nice beamer...

Also, here's your SUV for the masses:

http://www.afstrinity.com/

....If they'd actually sell it. Right now they're just trying to sell it to GM and the like.

I was required this week to attend hybrid school. Some of the stuff ya'll are thinking is a bit off base.
The torque question is not a question. As stated, the AC motors have no real torque issues, they are extremely high torque.
Also, if there is an IC motor involved, there isn't a real question of range. The IC motor charges the battery as it goes down the road. "Plug in" is not required on true hybrids.
Full electric cars have to be plugged in and recharged. They have a limited range but burn no fuel.
Average speeds are around 60 w/a couple of models capable of more.
Most have NiMH batteries, lithium is too expensive and has no let down of power. When they (lithium) go dead, they are dead w/no warning of let down.
Mfr warranties of batteries are around 10yrs. Yes, they are expensive to replace (around 1200-2000) for replacement.
There are some definite precautions that have to be taken when working on these vehicles as well. The end voltage sent to the motors will kill you, not injure you. Definitely going to be dealer repair vehicles, no shade trees allowed.
GM has a concept full electric that they are working on now that is a really sharp looking car. Who knows what the final result will be...
One thing is for sure, the mfrs are steadily working on new models right now. It won't be 5-6 yrs before they start popping up w/new offerings, more like 2-3.
The other thing that is getting serious looks is the fuel cell cars... They are already in use in Europe and are gaining in popularity over there.

TexDuckHunter:

Heard this idea kicked around some. Gas or Diesel turbine that runs a generator that runs the electric motor?
The turbine would not use much fuel, but could it turn the turbine fast enough to produce enough energy to keep the electric motor pushing the car around?

R G Letourneau builds giant earth moving machines using this technology. Has a big cat engine running a generator that powers electric motors built into each of the wheels.

Wonder if something like that could be adapted to cars?

That is pretty much the theory, grandpa.
Keep in mind that "hybrid" cars are really not true electric cars. They actually run on both types of power, sometimes electric, sometimes gas/diesel, sometimes a combination of both... Confused yet? Heck, you should have seen us in school.
It also depends upon the mfr and how the car is designed.
As stated earlier, trains and some heavy equipment run on electric motors..
In laymans terms, you have the idea and it is already being used on cars. There is a generator that recharges the battery, there is also power returned to the batteries when decelarating and braking due to how the electric motors work.
For me, a hybrid doesn't really work. I drive too many highway miles back and forth to work. For an urban dweller, hybrids could be a very viable option as a day to day driver.

Hybrid basicly says it, I dont want you to think that becouse GM gave you this info it is absolute, The regenerative systems have flaws as well as the batteries. Lithum is the future. Like I said i work with some vey intelligent informative leaders in the industry. The recharging systems being released now arent going to be the optimal in 5-6 years. NiMh will be obsolete.

Take this as my opinion if you like but do me the favor of commiting it to memory, so that in 5-6 years we can see what happens and remember this day.